Orchid soil and re-potting

[NicolaE]

Hi, I hope someone can help.

I have this orchid (photo's attached) and I have been thinking for some time now that it looks like it's outgrowing its pot and needs to be re-potted. I've never done this before so any advice would be gratefully received!

I've seen the orchid soil sold in shops but this one doesn't appear to have the loose bark-like soil that most seem to be so I don't want to buy that if it's the wrong kind! I have others that do have the bark soil and when I water them, if you're not careful the soil all comes out! With this one, it doesn't!

I'm hoping you are able to tell what sort of soil it is by the photos!

Thanks in advance.

[Dimples]

Your orchid is currently growing in sphagnum moss. It’s extremely common for orchids to be grown in that at commercial nurseries. Import regulations don’t allow bark products, moss is permitted and preferable to shipping bare root plants, and the high light and warm conditions inside greenhouses makes it a great choice for them. It can be too water retentive for some home conditions and many hobbyists choose bark or other less water retentive media.

That said, phals can be grown in sphagnum, there are members here that have experience with it, but I don’t personally choose to use it. I like medium/large orchid bark because it’s nearly impossible to over water in my indoor home growing conditions (yearly lows 17C/63F, highs 28C/83F and 35-60% humidity with good airflow) and I find bark to be more forgiving when something does go wrong.

If you want to continue to grow it in moss, you’ll be looking for long fiber sphagnum moss. Better Grow (Gro?) has some good quality sphagnum moss available in the states so I’d assume it may be available in your area, but there are also online vendors. Ideally you want to find blond/yellow moss, that’s the nicer stuff. Brown or dark colored moss is lower quality and if that’s your only option you may want to try orchid bark instead.

---------- Post added at 11:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 AM ----------

Very pretty orchid, by the way.

It does look slightly dehydrated, the leaves look soft and have wrinkles but should be turgid and smooth. The roots I can see look pretty good, so that may be an older issue. Once leaves get a little floppy they don’t always plump back up even when they’re getting enough water. Maybe water it a day or so sooner than you have been.

[Paphluvr]

I can't really tell what your plant is currently potted in but I do agree with Dimples that it is currently underwatered.

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by NicolaE

I've seen the orchid soil sold in shops but this one doesn't appear to have the loose bark-like soil that most seem to be so I don't want to buy that if it's the wrong kind! I have others that do have the bark soil and when I water them, if you're not careful the soil all comes out! With this one, it doesn't!

First, welcome to the Orchid Board!

Can you clarify what you mean by "bark soil"? You should not have soil coming out when you water your orchids. Maybe a photo of the mix you are using, or the bag it comes in?

I can't really tell from your photos what that orchid is planted in now, maybe sphagnum, maybe sphagnum mixed with something else. Either way, it does appear to be outgrowing the pot it is in and could benefit from a slightly larger one.

I also agree with the previous replies that, based on the photos, it appears it has been under-watered for a while.

[NicolaE]

Thank you so much for your advice and all the information.

I have had the orchid for nearly 3 years and have always watered once every 2 weeks by dunking the pot into water for 30 seconds. This was the method I was told by a nursery once and for this orchid at least seems to have done very well from it. The leaves on top are a darker green and not floppy or lined so I just presumed that it was the older ones at the bottom which were naturally coming to the end of their lives with new leaves growing. However, I will try watering more frequently although don't want to go the other way and over-water!

I will take a look at what sphagnum moss we have available and I think as it has done so well in this media before I will try and keep to the same in future.

Am I right in saying to wait until it has finished flowering before re-potting it?

Thanks again.

[WaterWitchin]

I agree with what Dimples says. The little plastic pot it's in is classic commercial growers pot with tightly packed sphagnum. It hasn't been repotted since you got it, and the "soil" you may see coming from the pot after watering is likely sphagnum moss that's starting to degrade.

When you first got it, dunking it every couple of weeks was working well. Now three years later, it needs to be refreshed. It's larger now, it has more aerial roots, and that's partly why the lower leaves and some of the aerial roots are drying out. Going from a grower's tightly packed sphag plug to repotting in sphag is a whole different ballgame. As Dimples says, bark is a much more forgiving medium than sphag unless you're a seasoned grower.

Were it me, I'd get some good quality orchid bark, add a bit of chopped up sphag if it doesn't contain any. Let it sit in water for a little bit, then slip or cut it out of the plastic pot, put into a slightly larger pot with good drainage. Some bark mix under it, and bark mix around the plug. No need to fiddle around trying to remove degraded sphag unless you can easily remove some without breaking roots.

Then start watering it more often (because you're using a bark medium) around once a week, which will also help those aerial roots that show dehydration. Phals are an easy orchid to repot, even when in bloom.

If you really want to use sphag for growing instead of bark, I suggest you research here on OB to see the tips and processes for potting and repotting from folks who grow well in sphagnum.

That's a very pretty color and you've grown and bloomed it well.

[Dimples]

You don’t have to, but it’s fine to wait until after the plant has dropped the blooms but definitely water sooner than every two weeks. Once the moss at the top of the pot has begun to get slightly crispy/dry and the roots you can see through the pot are mostly grey again, water it. Could be once a week, could be longer, but the plant’s current condition indicates than 14 days is too long of an interval. Even the newest leaves are showing some signs of chronic dehydration (better than chronic soggy medium!). As you can see, it’s still a very happy plant.

I’d be grabbing a pair of clean tweezers to try and pull out as much of the old sphagnum as you can easily reach when you repot. Don’t worry about getting it all out or trying to fill in the middle with new mix. Having an empty void in the middle of the roots/pot is something many of us try to replicate with potting tricks, so if you already have it, use it!

[Antogags99]

Originally Posted by NicolaE

Hi, I hope someone can help.

I have this orchid (photo's attached) and I have been thinking for some time now that it looks like it's outgrowing its pot and needs to be re-potted. I've never done this before so any advice would be gratefully received!

I've seen the orchid soil sold in shops but this one doesn't appear to have the loose bark-like soil that most seem to be so I don't want to buy that if it's the wrong kind! I have others that do have the bark soil and when I water them, if you're not careful the soil all comes out! With this one, it doesn't!

I'm hoping you are able to tell what sort of soil it is by the photos!

Thanks in advance.

I use a mix of bark and sphagnum moss. I start with a layer of moss at the bottom followed by bark. I usually have 4 layers and the top one is always bark. This seems to work well in my environment, though I know some people use only bark. Maybe you can go through the beginners threads to get a better idea as each grower usually has their own preferred substrate. Hope this helps. Good luck